If crises are the test of a nation, Western Europe is failing March 12, 2025 The financial crisis and the pandemic have shown how modern Europe deals with crises. And it's not pretty, writes Paul Ormerod.
Persimmon: Housebuilder posts uptick in profit amid housing market recovery March 11, 2025 Housebuilder Persimmon has reported an uptick in house completions and profit after two years of steep declines. The York-based company completed 10,664 homes in the year ended December 31, up seven per cent year on year. Revenue from new housing rose £2.86bn from £2.54bn while underlying profit before tax rose 10 per cent to £395.1m. [...]
Is nanotech the next big iceberg for business? March 11, 2025 Nanotechnology is being hailed as the next medical revolution, promising everything from precision drug delivery to real-time disease tracking. The same advancements that could wipe out chronic illnesses, however, also open the door to unprecedented biosecurity risks, says Paul Armstrong The fifth anniversary of Covid-19 was a reminder of how fragile global health systems remain [...]
Why are women still shut out of venture capital? March 10, 2025 Venture capital (VC) remains overwhelmingly male-dominated, both in terms of who controls investment decisions and who receives funding. Despite women founding one in five startups in the UK, only two per cent of VC funding goes to all-women teams. This is the lowest figure in five years. “That’s not just a statistic – it’s a [...]
Reeves eyeing spending cuts as fiscal walls cave in March 10, 2025 Rachel Reeves is expected to take the chop to spending in her upcoming Spring Statement, as the government’s fiscal headroom disappears. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is set to show a depletion in the Chancellor’s headway, according to BNP Paribas economists. This leaves the government with little options beside further tax hikes or spending [...]
Lloyd’s of London expects £1.8bn hit from Californian wildfires March 10, 2025 Lloyd’s of London, the historic insurance market, has reported a 6.5 per cent increase in premiums written for 2024. In a trading update published this morning ahead of its full results, which are set to be released on 20 March 2025, Lloyd’s said gross written premiums increased £55.5bn from £52.1bn in the prior year. Lloyd’s [...]
Ex-Bank of England governor Mark Carney named next Canadian PM March 10, 2025 Former Bank of England governor Mark Carney has been named the next Canadian prime minister after winning his party leadership vote in a landslide. Carney won 85.9 per cent of the vote in the Liberal Party leadership contest and will succeed Justin Trudeau, who has been in office for nine years. He served as the [...]
Atom Bank wants to inspire staff back to the office March 10, 2025 The boss of Atom Bank said he wants to inspire his staff back to the office as he announced plans to relocate its headquarters to Newcastle. Chief executive Mark Mullen has confirmed plans to move its head office from The Rivergreen Centre in Durham to The Pattern Shop in Newcastle. The Pattern Shop was where [...]
More than 300,000 businesses plan job cuts as Reeves’ Budget starts to bite March 10, 2025 More than 300,000 businesses are expected to lay off workers, as a flurry of data reveals a jobs market slowdown following the government’s Budget measures on employment. The £25bn rise in national insurance contributions (NICs) announced by the Chancellor in October is set to kick in next month, while businesses are also reportedly spooked by [...]
Clarkson: Shipping giant shrugs off uncertainty to report higher profit March 10, 2025 Clarkson has reported robust preliminary results for the year ending 31 December 2024, despite a challenging global shipping environment. The company, the world’s leading provider of integrated shipping services, offers broking, financial, support, and research services to clients worldwide. It reported revenue of £661.4m, up from £639.4m in 2023. Underlying profit before taxation rose six [...]